I'm giving up a money-making secret

[Seabass]

I debated telling the whole NP crowd this but I can't see how it would cut me out of any earnings and I wanted to help other NP's make a little more cash in these rough times. So here it is :

I started fooling around with eBay and using their direct linking method began to add generic domains to each corresponding page that matched up with the product. No website creation is necessary....just use the direct link method in EPN.

Well.....after tinkering around with it using different verticals most of which don't work....I found something that does. Animal domains.....especially one word animal domains.

Now don't ask me why, but they convert to $$$ better than domain parking does with any parking company I've ever used. It literally is putting over $x,xxx more per month to the bottom line over and above what I was making in domain parking. And....they rarely buy anything related to the domain's subject matter.

It's unreal. The success may be tied somehow to folks looking for a deal, but it seems to work best with animal domains and I just can't figure out why.

Regarding other types of domains I have found about one in ten to fifteen do better at eBay than they do parked.

Try it for a month and see. Good luck.

* Ever notice Sendori sends every third visitor to eBay. Why is that? :hehe:

 

[dbtbandit67]

well, you talked me into it Seabass. i'll give it a try.

a epn rep actually got back to you and said, "it's kool"?

i will keep this thread updated if i get any heat for it lol

 

[~ The 34 Year Buzz!!]

You have to refer the winning bidder, and then you receive ~ what % of eBays' commission?

 

[domainerx]

Does the ebay TOS allow you run a PPC campaign to promote one of these domains?

I remember ebay or at the time CJ telling me to desist from direct linking to an eBay page via adwords. But it had nothing to do with domains.

 

[Mike]

Direct navigation being the keyword. Unless you have a pretty strong domain that has steady traffic, it's a losing proposition.
However, if PPC support is possible/allowed(?), I can see this actually making a LOT of sense. I haven't read the TOS of EPN yet.
The other option would then really be to build mini sites, which is obviously not the idea behind URL forwarding...

M.

 

[cache]

can anyone else confirm this would work?

 

[Seabass]

well, you talked me into it Seabass. i'll give it a try.

a epn rep actually got back to you and said, "it's kool"?

i will keep this thread updated if i get any heat for it lol

Julio.....no rep "got back to me" and no rep said "it's kool". Don't get me in trouble.

What I said was I had been in contact with eBay and they did not mention what I was doing was wrong. I did not ask if it was "ok".

Like I said I don't see anything in the TOS or eBay Partner Code of Conduct that forbids this. But again, why is Sendori doing it if it is against any rules? Unless they got some explicit permisssion, but I doubt that.

But in case anyone missed it I'll say it again:

FOLKS DUE YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. GO READ THE TOS AND THE EBAY PARTNER CODE OF CONDUCT FIRST ! ETC.....

You have to refer the winning bidder, and then you receive ~ what % of eBays' commission?

You get 50% of eBay's commission take, unless you turn heavy volume of sales then the % goes up. Mine is at 55% since I am over the $1000 mark in sales every month.

You also get paid for new eBay membership signups, called ACRU, which has a sliding payout scale from $0 - $50. The higher the quality signups you send the more they pay out. My signups are in the medium range so they have set the payout rate at $28.

.

I remember ebay or at the time CJ telling me to desist from direct linking to an eBay page via adwords. But it had nothing to do with domains.

I can't remember where but I heard some chatter that eBay was getting tired of having to bid against its affiliates at Google.

After all eBay is Google's biggest customer. If we all did Adwords it would drive their sales and new customer acquisition costs up.
.

Direct navigation being the keyword. Unless you have a pretty strong domain that has steady traffic, it's a losing proposition.
However, if PPC support is possible/allowed(?), I can see this actually making a LOT of sense. I haven't read the TOS of EPN yet.
The other option would then really be to build mini sites, which is obviously not the idea behind URL forwarding...

M.

True......there is no sense in doing this if you don't have traffic in the first place. It makes sense if you already have traffic though.

can anyone else confirm this would work?

I'm not sure.....but I don't think anyone else has done this yet. I've never heard of it at least.

I discovered it b/c I was looking for a hedge against parking and really did not want to spend a bunch of time making mini-pages like BANS pages, crappy five page "info" sites, etc...... I just have too much to do to be spending time on creating pages.
.

 

[trevor]

I started fooling around with eBay and using their direct linking method began to add generic domains to each corresponding page that matched up with the product. No website creation is necessary....just use the direct link method in EPN.

I'm not familiar with EPN so all of this is over my head. You say no website creation is necessary, but don't you have to have a website to submit to get into EPN? So if someone wanted to try this, they would have to join EPN using a website they've created and then go on to try your method of direct linking?

Thanks

 

[dbtbandit67]

I'm not sure.....but I don't think anyone else has done this yet. I've never heard of it at least.

I discovered it b/c I was looking for a hedge against parking and really did not want to spend a bunch of time making mini-pages like BANS pages, crappy five page "info" sites, etc...... I just have too much to do to be spending time on creating pages.

AMEN BROTHER.

i despise the notion of getting stuck into constantly updating content pages as the best way of monetizing a domain. which is why i love targetted traffic domains so much and pay premiums for them.

keep in mind that laziness was what got me into domaining to begin with. i want to own a bunch of domains like stocks.com and gold.com so i can park them and sit on my ass and collect checks lol

 

[CamMK27]

Thank you for the great info. I will test it and see how it goes.

 

[rpanella]

This is called cookie-stuffing and its against eBay TOS. They actually sued a couple big offenders last year.

I would be careful with this, as you are unlikely to actually see any of the money once they find out what you are doing.

 

[nuke007]

This is worth trying.
Thanks

 

[DubDubDubDot]

Anyone interested in this method needs to personally verify it's legitimacy with an eBay rep before attempting it or you risk being terminated from the program entirely.

It is my understanding that you can't just be pushing traffic around. There has to be an element of selling, even if it's just "Click here, eBay is cool."

So I would be surprised if they allowed domain forwarding.

 

[ginggang]

This is called cookie-stuffing and its against eBay TOS. They actually sued a couple big offenders last year.

I would be careful with this, as you are unlikely to actually see any of the money once they find out what you are doing.

I don't think this could be classed as cookie stuffing. Cookie stuffing is very different.

 

[Makis.TV]

cookie stuffing is more complex than this, it may pass as cooking stuffing method but its far away from that.

 

[killerbees]

Thats fantastic, http://www.digitalpctv.com was one i was working on.Thanks for the tip.

 

[rpanella]

I don't think this could be classed as cookie stuffing. Cookie stuffing is very different.

I believe you are confused.

Cookie stuffing is simply loading an eBay cookie on visitors computers in hopes they will make a purchase on their own before it expires, due to the fact a large percentage of the internet uses eBay on a regular basis.

Automatic redirects, popups, iframes, etc are all methods to stuff cookies. The key is that visitors are cookied when visiting your site and not when clicking on an eBay ad. This has long been against the TOS of eBay (and any affiliate program).

 

[ginggang]

I believe you are confused.

Cookie stuffing is simply loading an eBay cookie on visitors computers in hopes they will make a purchase on their own before it expires, due to the fact a large percentage of the internet uses eBay on a regular basis.

Automatic redirects, popups, iframes, etc are all methods to stuff cookies. The key is that visitors are cookied when visiting your site and not when clicking on an eBay ad. This has long been against the TOS of eBay (and any affiliate program).

As it's a redirection there is no attempt at deception ? The method being discussed here is using a type-in redirection ie it's relevant to the user . The OP states that the domain name redirects to a relevant Ebay link based on the domain name. I don't see how that be construed as cookie stuffing ?

I do believe it falls under the EPN agreement F.4 Special Promtional Methods which requires consent from EPN though.

Looking through here https://publisher.ebaypartnernetwork.com/PublisherRegCC these lines are relevant

Non-Bona Fide Transactions.

You will not cause any transactions to be made that are not in good faith, including but not limited to using invisible methods to generate impressions, clicks or transactions that are not initiated by the affirmative action of an end user, or using any cookie, device, program, robot, iframe or hidden frame, pop-up window or any other operation or process that interferes with our ability to properly identify and track transactions.

You will not deliver any Network related cookies or other tracking tags to the computers of end users that are merely viewing your website, Promotional Content or advertisements or while your applications are merely active or open.

You will not interfere with or seek to improperly influence the referral of an end user to Participating Sites and Content unless the end user knowingly and explicitly consents to that behavior by taking an affirmative action.

You and your Agents will not click on Promotional Content containing your own Tracking Code.

Misdirection, Redirection and Framing. You will not make any representations, either express or implied, or otherwise create an appearance that a visitor to your website and/or Promotional Content is visiting Participating Sites and Content, for example, by framing or wrapping a site in any manner, without the express written permission of eBay Partner Network or the Advertiser.

The URLs your Links direct to will appear in the address line of the browser.

You will not attempt by any means to intercept or redirect traffic from or on, or divert compensation from, Participating Sites and Content or any other Affiliate.

I do not see anything that indicates a pure redirection based on relevant campagin link is against the TOS

It comes down to someone talking to a EPN agent to confirm and get it in writing.

I've sgined up and will be asking that question.

 

[footodors]

taking an affirmative action.
is the key here.
Lot of affilates on CJ have clauses against url redirects as well. I don't really know why but it may be a user experience thing, where the user expects to go one place and is instead sent elsewhere.

Has a phishing look to it which eBay would not want to be a part of.

 

[ginggang]

taking an affirmative action.
is the key here.
Lot of affilates on CJ have clauses against url redirects as well. I don't really know why but it may be a user experience thing, where the user expects to go one place and is instead sent elsewhere.

Has a phishing look to it which eBay would not want to be a part of.

Agreed. I would think that that if someone types in lovelymonkeys.com and they were re-directed to Ebay why would they not do that first themselves ?

What would be the user's expectation to see on lovelymonkeys.com ?

Or maybe the user had not thought to look on Ebay for lovely monkeys ?


Simple explicit question needs to be asked to see if this is against the TOS as I can't see where the above example falls foul.

 

[Seabass]

AMEN BROTHER.

i despise the notion of getting stuck into constantly updating content pages as the best way of monetizing a domain. which is why i love targetted traffic domains so much and pay premiums for them.

keep in mind that laziness was what got me into domaining to begin with. i want to own a bunch of domains like stocks.com and gold.com so i can park them and sit on my ass and collect checks lol

I'm not so sure that the "powers that be" will allow folks to sit around and collect money as we have historically. They are too jealous.

"Hogs get slaughtered" comes to mind.

There are many forces at work currently with the ultimate goal to divest us of our properties. I've shotgun blasted a couple in the face already but they keep coming like a zombie video game. There is too much money involved for bad companies to ignore this space.
.

This is called cookie-stuffing and its against eBay TOS. They actually sued a couple big offenders last year.

I would be careful with this, as you are unlikely to actually see any of the money once they find out what you are doing.

What the heck are you talking about?

Nobody is cookie stuffing. Where would you get an ideal like that?
.

Anyone interested in this method needs to personally verify it's legitimacy with an eBay rep before attempting it or you risk being terminated from the program entirely.

It is my understanding that you can't just be pushing traffic around. There has to be an element of selling, even if it's just "Click here, eBay is cool."

So I would be surprised if they allowed domain forwarding.

Go read the TOS and eBay partner code of conduct.

Did you read them before saying this?

What you just recommened is against the TOS.....You can't say "eBay is cool...click here". That will get you canned for sure.

I think you need to reread the TOS and eBay partner code of conduct.
.

.................

I do not see anything that indicates a pure redirection based on relevant campagin link is against the TOS

It comes down to someone talking to a EPN agent to confirm and get it in writing.

I've sgined up and will be asking that question.

Please do let us all know what you find out.
.

taking an affirmative action.
is the key here.
Lot of affilates on CJ have clauses against url redirects as well. I don't really know why but it may be a user experience thing, where the user expects to go one place and is instead sent elsewhere.

Has a phishing look to it which eBay would not want to be a part of.

Once again, something nobody has answered is why is Sendori allowed to do it.
LeaseThis.com does it as well I believe.

Also, is typing the domain in and hitting the Enter button "taking affirmative action"?

I guess we do need it in writing, however.